7/7 victims: ‘We have been forgotten’

Grieving relatives gathered yesterday at the sites of the July 7 bombings to mark five years since the London terror attacks – and voiced their anger at why no offic­ial event was held.

Fire fighters held a one-minute silence in Tavistock Square in central London

Many said the lack of official recognition was in direct contrast to how America marks the 9/11 anniversary.

Graham Foulkes, whose 22-year-old son David was killed at the Edgware Road bombing, said: ‘On the fifth anniv­ersary, the least the prime minister could do is attend and lay a wreath.

‘This was a national attack and it’s really disappointing. I know it’s upset many people.’

He contrasted Britain’s attitude with the active approach taken to remembering the 2001 attacks in the US.

‘The Americans had an independent inquiry. We can’t even get the inq­uests to run within a reasonable timetable,’ he said. Fifty-two people died and more than 700 were injured in 2005 when four Islamist extremists detonated bombs on three Tube trains and a bus.

Many survivors and families gathered yesterday at the Hyde Park memorial, where floral tributes were laid.

A note from prime minister David Cameron on one wreath said the victims ‘will never be forgotten’.

Mayor Boris Johnson sent flowers and praised Greater London Authority staff for their response to the attacks.

None of the families had been in touch since last year asking for an official ann­iversary event, said the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Religious leaders marked the day at the north London launch of a Communities Preventing Hate campaign. They pledged to promote a sense of community ‘to curb all expressions of hate crime’.